President Joe Biden on Monday urged Congress to pass legislation providing $52 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers to reduce reliance on foreign sourcing for the vital component.
Speaking to senior business and national security officials, as well as representatives from manufacturers and a union, Biden said the government’s support for domestic producers means the United States “will be able to stay in the game.”
“Congress needs to pass this legislation as soon as possible,” he said, citing both economic and national security, “the need” to ensure production of the tiny components needed for everything from smartphones to smartphones to cars and guns.
“America invented semiconductors, but over the years we’ve allowed manufacturing of those semiconductors to go abroad,” Biden said. “The United States must lead the world in producing these chips.”
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called microchips “a cornerstone technology that underpins our entire economy” and warned that the United States is already falling far behind.
US importers are “totally dependent on Taiwan for top chips,” she said, while China is already investing heavily in its state-sponsored semiconductor industry.
“It’s not possible to have a strong economy and a strong country if we don’t do things in America,” she said, urging Congress to “get the spending bill over the finish line and on your (Biden’s) desk this week.” . It is vital.”
While microchips are at the heart of everyday technology, including in the booming electric vehicle industry, officials also told Biden the national security implications of a weak supply chain.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks called microchips “ground zero of our technology competition with China,” while national security adviser Jake Sullivan called the “reliance on a limited number of foreign facilities…absolutely dangerous.”
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